Snoopy!

I would like to introduce you to Snoopy {cue dancing Snoopy song.....}

It's done! Finito! Snoopy (or 'Noopy as my son calls him) is finished! I feel so great! Hayden is completely and absolutely in love with his costume. He would wear it all day if i let him {white and two year old don't really mix}. I am just so happy with how it turned out!

For his body jumpsuit, i used this pattern i got for all of $0.99 at Joann {thank you amazing sales}. I modified it a ton, bringing in the sides, changing the feet, the tale, adding the spot, but the jist of it was the same.

For his head, i traced my Hayden's head and then traced a cute snoopy doll we have. I then blew it up to 180x and then reduced and adjusted til i had it just right. I am so proud of that little Snoopy head! :) It's fun when you have a vision in your head and it actually turns out perfectly!!

We had our little photoshoot and i just think he is darling! When i am finally done with Eldon's costume we are going to the local pumpkin patch and going to do a little photoshoot and see if we can get some cute pictures of the boys together {which is so hard BTW}.

So yes, i am thrilled beyond belief! Oh and Woodstock is almost done! Just some hemming and eyes are he will be done!!! YAY! Here's a sneak peak:

{thank you to my boys for humoring me in the 90+ degree weather}

Halloween is in full force here in the Tanner home! It hit me after our little vacation {from Hades} that i really needed to finish up the costumes. I decided to make a mock of Hayden's "hood" for his costume. Can you tell who he is? the fabric can be a little confusing but i'm pretty sure it's going to be awesome! I am so excited! I might take the sides in on the costume. I swear they think 2 year old are 3 times larger than they are...

So yes, i am super excited!!! I can't wait to get it all fixed up!

Can you tell who I am?? :)

Halloweens Past

With Halloween rapidly approaching I have been doing lots of planning for this year's Halloween! I am super excited about what I have come up with! I love having a family theme! So we will have one yet again. I will reveal it soon... just not QUITE yet. Let's see if you will be able to guess :o)

I also realized I have never posted my pictures of my last two year's worth of Halloween pictures! So here goes...

Nick (my husband)'s favorite book as a child was "Where the Wild Things Are" so I knew once i started sewing that Hayden's first Halloween he HAD to be the main Wild Thing. Since i was pretty knew to sewing it's a bit rough, but i was (and am!) so insanely proud of how it turned out. The onesie is made of two fabrics i sewed together. Then embroidered. The pants are a pair of Carter's stretchy pants covered in rows of gray triangles. I also appliqued WILD THING on the front. The head band is a crocheted fur yarn with stuffed horns attached and on the socks i put little claws. He was totally a hit and looked SOOOOO cute!

Then last Halloween, we had TWO little monsters and I really wanted to do a family theme. So i wracked my brain and after a trip to Joanns and seeing this pattern I knew what I was going to make the Tanner Family Circus. So i made Hayden and Elephant, Eldon a lion, Nick the Ringleader, and I was a gypsy (i am afraid of clowns so our circus wasn't allowed to have any clowns).  I LOVED the way the costumes turned out. I even won $40 at the Base Kid's Halloween Party. That was pretty awesome!.

I also HAD to make the boys Halloween shirts (and romper) for the little boys. I was pretty excited about Halloween last year. This year i am going to make a tie for Eldon and a bowtie for Hayden. (H is obsessed with bowties). So these are their little shirts!

Little Boy Short

Yesterday was our baby's birthday! So i figured here is the tutorial for his birthday shorts... and the other two pairs i have made! To see the original go here. Happy Birthday Eldie!!! We Love You!

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I made another pair of super cute Hayden shorts!!I love these shorts. Really love them. They are so simple to make and if you left out the pockets, they would be about 3 steps! Really easy. The pockets are a bit confusing at first, but once you figure them out they are a breeze {and super cute}. I love the Twill material! Really quality! He's darling!

Are you ready to make some super cute shorts? I know there seems like a million steps, but i wanted to make it SO understandable! It's really easy! Promise! You will need:

• about 3/4 yard main fabric for 3T
• fat quarter lining fabric
• 1 1/4 inch elastic
• (and normal sewing supplies)

1. Trace shorts-front, back, pockets {Or print out mine}
2. Cut out pieces. Set aside. {I like to keep them with their label on top-especially the short front and back. It can be confusing}
3. Take pocket pieces {all 6} separate one lining with two tops.

4. Iron top pieces over about 3/8 inch.
5. Place piece on top of lining and pin.
6. Edge stitch as close to the edge as you can {without missing the fabric, of course}
7. Trim Edges of shorts so the wlining and main fabrics match
8. Fold shorts so the “wrong” sides and facing {the two pure lining sides}
9. Pin and sew ½ from the bottom side {we are doing a French seam}
10. Now turn “inside out” {turn the opposite way} so that the two main fabric pieces on each pocket are facing each other. Iron and pin the bottom.  Sew 3/8" from the bottom {encasing seam allowance}{honestly, you don’t need to pin . Look at the bottom once you have turned it inside out. You see the ½ of fabric that is darker and about 3 times as thick. That is what you need to encase. Sew along this}

11. Set pockets aside.
12. Grab the front main pieces. Sew up the center of these pieces. Repeat for back pieces.
13. Press the seam to one side and stitch about ¼ inch from the center seam down the short piece.
14. Grab your pockets. This will be the hardest part of the tutorial. Take the front piece of the pocket and place it on the front of the short.
15. Now take the piece that is NOT touching the short and pin it. Sew about 3 inches.
16. Clip the top and bottom of the stitching pocket.

17. Flip around {creating a French seam} and sew about 3/8” in from the edge encasing the raw edges.
18. Now the next two steps are helper steps:
1. First, straighten up the front piece and pin your pockets in place This way they won’t move around when you are sewing the bottom pieces of your shorts.
2. Next, take your pockets and stitch a satin stitch at the top of the opening of the pocket and the bottom of the opening. This will keep the two pieces of the pocket together sturdily AND make it easier to sew with.
19. Now pin together the lower leg opening. Sew or Serge.

20. Next, match up the front and back sides of the shorts. Make sure to line up the back side of the pocket with the back. Sew down the two sides seams making sure to miss your pocket.
21. Check to make sure you didn’t accidently stitch the pocket. Serge Short.
22. Iron the seam allowance the opposite way of the pocket. Stitch ¼” from the seam.
23. Now to hem the short. Fold the fabric over 1/4" then again 1/2". Edge stitch along the INSIDE of the short. This guarantees you hit the inside and make a nice clean hem.
24. Now to the waistband. Fold the fabric over 1/2 inch. Then fold again 1 3/4". You might have to trim a little length of the top depending on how long your top piece was. You need you waistband to hit at the top of your pockets, so you sew them in as you sew the waistband.

25. Edge stitch along the inside of the waistband leaving approx 2" for the elastic.
26. Cut elastic to desired length (measure around child or pre-exisiting short). Stick a safety pin through the end of the elastic and thread through casing.
27. Overlap ends of elastic and zigzag together (zigzag has some give--making it better suited to elastic)
28. Sew casing shut.

29. No one wants their elastic to move around too much and if you look at most of your boy's professional shorts you will see a chainstitch running through the waistband. If you have a coverhem machine use that, but if not i will teach you how to make it LOOK like you did.
30. Grab your short. Change your stitch length to 5.0mm (the longest on my machine).
31. Using your foot as a guide, stitch 1/2 inch from the top of the short through the waistband. As you continue through the short, stretch the elastic and waistband fabric so there are no gathers. Go all the way around the short.
32. Repeat ever 1/2 inch until you have completed the waistband!
33. Cut your threads and TA-DA! You are done! Look at those awesome shorts you made! Put them on your babies and... as always... take WAY too many pictures!!



I really want to make a million more!!!

Bowties too!

The bowtie happens to be my older son's favorite part of the whole "tie extravaganza". He is always asking for his "boo-tie." I'm glad he likes it so much!

Here is the photo tutorial for how to make the bowtie. On the pdf i kinda left out the first step so i have added it in here and i will alter the pdf soon.

Don't forget to check out the ties and their photo tutorial too! {Little Boy's Ties!}

Bowties, too!

pattern found here
*this pattern is for home, personal use ONLY*

1. Place bow tie right sides together. Stitch 3/8” away from edge leaving about 1 inch to turn inside out.
2. Iron on fusible fleece.
3.  Turn bowtie back inside out.
4. Iron and stitch opening closed {either by hand or machine}. Set main bowtie aside.
5.  Fold tie neck strap in half. Press. Now fold the raw edges in onto the middle line you just created {just like bias tape}. Stitch close to the edge.
6. Next take your bowtie center knot piece. Fold in half.
7. Stitch between ¼” and 3/8” from the outside.
8. Turn inside out and press so the center seam goes up the back.
9. Grab your bowtie again. Baste up middle of bowtie.{two lines close together work best}
10. Gather as well as you can without breaking your strings. Press.
11. Take the bowtie and the strap and place them together with the back of the bowtie to the front of the neck strap.
12. Take your bowtie center knot piece and fold in the ends wrapping it around your tie as tight as you can {or as tightly as you like}
13. Sew BY HAND the ends of the piece together.
14. Apply Velcro or snaps.
15. Place on your little boy and {again} take LOTs of pictures!

{i can never get enough of my sweet children!}

{taking all these pictures on my ironing board has shown me how badly i need a new ironing board cover... looks like one is on the way! :o)}

Little Boy Tie Pattern

The Little Boy Tie Pattern

(and bowtie too!)

Pattern found here!!
*this pattern is for home, personal use only.*

Haha! It's done! Feewph! *wipes sweat from brow*. That totally kicked my butt! Not nearly as simple as i thought it would be! But i learned a lot... and now i actually have a pattern. Yay! 

I added a bowtie part {thanks to my dad's request} so now there is a tie AND bowtie pattern. {my babies wore their bowties to church on Sunday. They were t.o.o. cute!}

Now here is the photo tutorial for the ties. I will add the bowtie photo tutorial tomorrrow:

1.  Print out pattern. Cut out pattern pieces along desired lines.
2.  Place pieces on a pressed piece of fabric {remember to wash and dry fabric first}. Cut out pattern pieces.
3. Take your two main tie pattern pieces and place them RIGHT sides together. Pin around edges. Stitch 3/8” away from the edge, leaving a 2 inch space to turn it right side out.
4.  Iron fusible fleece onto the wrong side of one side of the tie {the side with the fusible fleece will be the back side}.
5.  Clip the corners {otherwise your points will have excess bulk}
6. Turn Inside Out 
7. Stitch the opening closed {either by hand or machine}
8. Set aside main tie, and grab the neck strap. Fold in half.
9. Fold tie neck strap in half. Press. Now fold the raw edges in onto the middle line you just created {just like bias tape}. Stitch close to the edge.
10.   Place tie in U shape.
11. Place Neck strap on top.
12.  Fold Tie piece over and through the neck strap into a faux knot (see pictures)
13. Tack in place.
14. Attach tie tail holder.
15. Sew on Velcro OR apply snaps.
16. Place tie on your little boy and take LOTS of pictures! :o)

Coming tomorrow....

The Little Boy's Bowtie!

(photo tutorial)

Tie Pattern Preview.

So i've been working hard (and playing hard) to get my tie pattern all put together. I just need to add my BOWTIE portion to the pattern and we will be  up and running.

In order to test the pattern, i sat down and in one nap time i whipped up two ties and a bowtie. Yes. It was awesome. See... here is proof:

I'm a messy sewer :o)

Don't worry, life hasn't been all work and no play. We've played ball;

while wearing his new shorts mommy made him :o)

Flown airplanes;

yes, this is what happens when i try to have a photoshoot :o)

Practiced cooking up a storm;

Made silly faces;

Played in the pool in a rain (and maybe thunder) storm;

And, of course, reminded me of how gosh-darn lucky i am to have such NEARLY perfect children;

Now off to the base (or base airport as hayden would call it)!

Little Boys' Ties

So... i'm working on a pattern. For little boy's ties. Yes, there may be about a million, BUT i like mine best {smiles}. For my little sister's wedding i was enlisted to make 3 little boys ties out of 2 adult ties. I had to be creative because surprisingly two adult ties is just barely enough for three little boys ties.

So i figured i would work on my new tie pattern and turn it into a little tutorial of sorts. That will be coming soon. I need one more run at the pattern before i unleash it on all of you {haha, all four of you...three being my family! ;)}

Alas, i am excited. I think the ties are SUPER cute. They are from Pure by Sweetwater for Moda {that's a mouth full}. My kids are pretty darling too! I hope you enjoy!

Boys' Quilts

I started sewing when Hayden (my two year old) was 7 months old so i hadn't made him a quilt or anything. When i got pregnant with Eldon (my 11 month old) i decided i want to venture into the world of quilting. So i made a simple patchwork quilt. I thought i was pretty snazzy. 

Then i decided since i made Eldon a quilt i had to make Hayden a quilt. So i made him a little more interesting one. Not too difficult. I can't tell you the names of the fabrics though i know they are Alexander Henry and Riley Blake. Hayden's is backed with minky and Eldon's with Chenille.

They like them. And sleep with them. And i love knowing that they lay down every night covered with something filled with love and thought from his Momma.

Birthday Outfit

I looooove sewing kid's clothes. Little boys' clothes are no exception! I haven't sewn any in a while and i forgot how cute and versatile sewing for boys can be. I just have so many ideas!!

So my beautiful little 11 month old turns 1 next month and i can hardly believe it. My husband and i decided to start a new tradition to make buying gifts easier and help us from getting out of hand. For each birthday you get:

Something you want,

Something you need, 

Something homemade, 

And something to read.

I read about it on a blog somewhere in a comment section and i thought it was a fabulous idea for keeping holidays in check. I am working on the "poem" for Christmas and Easter, but they are a bit away still!

So for my baby boy his something homemade is his new little outfit. I made the shorts and shirt. The tunic is the Charlie's tunic pattern by MadebyRae. It's such a darling pattern! The facings are made from Alexander Henry's "2d Zoo." It's one of my fabric fabrics of all time. I love the big buttons and just love the outfit all around. The shorts are a seersucker from Joann and they even have pockets. I am working on a tutorial for them, but i need to make another pair to work through the instructions.

Anyways, i LOVE the outfit. I can hardly believe my little Eldie is going to be 1 but i am so happy for him too!